Hours:
16 hours (4 credits)

Room:

Aula Riunioni del Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Via G. Caruso 16, Pisa - Ground Floor

To register to the course, click here

Short Abstract:

This course aims to provide a summary of the different techniques used to detect and identify a transponder in real environment using radio frequency waves. The first approach allows the transponders to modulate its backscattered field. These transponders are able to generate new frequency components around the carrier frequency sent by the reader. Different examples include NFC, UHF RFID, barcodes… The second approach is based on the non-linearity of the transponders. These transponders can create new frequency components located at multiple of the fundamental frequency used by the reader. These two approaches allow to detect and identify a transponders in complex environment and offer significant advantages in term of read range and coding capacity compared to traditional techniques.
After describing the principle of operation of these two approches, RF instumentation will be used to detect, characterize and identify the previously presented transponders. Measurements will be done in both time and frequency domain using the available instrumentation in the University of Pisa, and instrumentation from the LCIS laboratory. Software defined radio will be used to implement a fully functional reader.

Course Contents in brief:

1. Introduction to Linear Time Invariant Transponders.
2. Modulated Transponders
   1. UHF RFID
   2. Rotating Scatterers
   3. Translated Scatterers
3. Non Linear Transponders
   1. Harmonic Transponders
   2. Non-Linear Modulation
4. Measurement and Characterization of LTV and NL transponders
   1. Reader Architecture
   2. Time domain analysis (VNA)
   3. Frequency domain analysis (Spectrum analyzer)

Schedule:

1. 18/06/2024: 14:00 - 18:00
2. 19/06/2024: 13:30 - 18:30
3. 20/06/2024: 13:30 - 18:30
4. 21/06/2024: 14:00 - 18:00